5/19/13

Mini Skirt Monday #154: Bewitched Minis (Part 2)

So, what did we learn from last week's Miniskirt Monday? Well, for starters we learned that I have too much time on my hands. Also, that Darrin is giant douche bag.

Moving right along....

Here's a conflagration of greatness if there ever was one: Ultra-cool Peter Lawford + Elizabeth Montgomery in the same room. I don't a single foyer can handle that much awesomeness without imploding on itself and going supernova.

That's Ellen Weston as the evil witch Piranha. Weston is perhaps best known for her role as Suzanne Thurston-Lynch on The Young and the Restless back in the early 80's. Fans of the soap will know her for sure.

When it comes to Samantha Stephens in a miniskirt, it doesn't get much better than the episode that aired Jan. 15, 1972: "Samantha Is Earthbound". In terms of screen time, hem line, and variety of angles... this episode takes the prize.

The episode begins with Sam becoming too heavy to stand up. Darrin carries her to the couch which subsequently smashes through the floor.

Doctor Bombay shows up to attend to the problem. He puts her on a scale and it reads that she's over five hundred pounds.

So he uses his fancy shmancy computer, diagnoses the problem, and offers Sam an antidote.

But, as you might expect, Bombay f***s it up, and Sam is now too light. She begins to float to the ceiling.

As luck would have it, Sam has to work at a neighborhood charity sale. Darrin must hold on to her tightly the whole time, which causes a lot of whispering among the neighbors.

Oh, the views Dick Sargent had on that day! Of course, Sargent is gay, so I guess this wasn't as eventful as it might've been.

And so it ends, like all good sitcoms do - with everything being wrapped up nicely. Bombay returns with a cure and all is well.

I included this screen shot, not so much to show you Sam's miniskirt, more because I just can't stand Darrin and this made me happy.

Tabitha's first day at school. She turns a bully into a frog.

In this episode, Nita Talbot plays the bully's mom. Talbot was in a buttload of shows all the way from Hogan's Heroes to The Rockford Files to The John Larroquette Show.

Endora hated Darrin almost as much as I do. In this episode, she brings to life this statue of Venus to temp "Derwood".

Francine York played Venus. She also played Lydia Limpet in two episodes of Batman as well a metric ton of other TV appearances including I Dream of Jeannie, Mannix, Riptide, Mr. Belvedere, Beverly Hills 90210, Adam-12, and even Hot in Cleveland.

Francine appeared in no less than six Jerry Lewis movies, including The Nutty Professor. Add to that an Elvis film and a handful of cult movies like The Doll Squad (1973), and you've got yourself an honorary place in the Retrospace Hall of Fame.

A truly memorable moment is when Francine emerges from a doorway wearing only an apron.

Darrin and Samantha are duly amazed.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but it does appear that Francine really IS wearing nothing but an apron. Pretty risque for Bewitched, don't you think? The humor comes when Sam tells Venus to put some clothes on; so, Venus begins to turn around, but Sam stops her and asks that she walk backwards. (insert laugh track)

In the final scene, Francine dons a French Maid outfit - always a crowd pleaser.

I think the show's longevity owes a lot to Elizabeth Montgomery's charisma. She was an ex-model, but wasn't afraid to act silly. You just liked her. Not only was she easy on the eyes, but she was a joy to watch. One of my all time favorite TV actresses. Perhaps the best there ever was. You can argue the point, but at the end of the day it's an opinion - my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

How did you miss Serena's outfit in her performance of I'll Blow You a Kiss in the Wind from Serena Stops the Show? Liz Montgomery wears the tiniest mini-dress ever in that scene (and Darin is an ass because the song is great!) Clip is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cFkXSgfjg

Glad to see there was one program on that actually celebrated the mini rather than grudgingly conceding its existence, as did the shows axed in the Rural Purge. Oh yeah it was a kick to see Nita Talbot outside Stalag 13.Darrin was an idiot the same way Frank Burns was. We counted on him to be the idiot who hated magic so that it could become a plot complication.

In all seriousness, how did those scenes with Francine York wearing the toga, and later just the apron, ever get by the ABC censors? Not that I'm complaining, but it seems completely unfathomable. Then again, maybe some of the suits at the network liked the eye candy!

I look and now cannot find an artilce written about how the costumers did risque stuff like the apron and some of the stuff on Star Trek. If I recall, they would use flesh toned pasties and very brief panties with liberal amounts of tape to hold things in place.

When I was a little kid watching Bewitched reruns in the 1970's I knew that Elizabeth Montgomery was pretty, but I didn't realize how sexy she was until recently. I've been watching Bewitched reruns lately on "Me TV," and I'm blown away by how sexy Samantha looked in those miniskirts.

The nice thing about when Elizabeth played Serena is that her skirts were even shorter yet. Although, I think that she looked way prettier as Samantha.

My favorite seasons of Bewitched are either the first couple because she looked so young, or the last season or two because she was constantly in those miniskirts. I don't think that she looked quite as hot in the middle seasons.

I was shocked (based on the time period that it was filmed) and thrilled to see Francine York nearly naked in the episode that I watched yesterday.

"[Ellen] Weston is perhaps best known for her role as Suzanne Thurston-Lynch on The Young and the Restless back in the early 80's." Say what? I would think fans of this 'blog would know and adore Weston primarily as Dr. Steele from a few episodes of Get Smart and secondarily as Hondo's wife on S.W.A.T.

I agree that Elizabeth Montgomery was beautiful. She took to going sand bra in those later seasons, evident in the picture of her and Darrin agape at Francine York. She provided viewers a lot more bulge and jiggle than I expected on a family series circa 1971.

A couple of years ago I saw a screen shot of Ms. Montgomery where it was pretty apparent that she was wearing a garter belt. The image is a bit foggy in my mind, but I recall a green skirt (or dress) and that she was in the back yard. That would be a great addition to this site.

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